25 years of cooperation between China and Central Asia

16.01.2017 10:36 739

The 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Central Asian countries was marked in Beijing. Diplomats from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan took part in the solemn ceremony. In the years of fruitful relations, the states have established strategic cooperation in all sectors. In 25 years, the trade turnover between these states has grown by 60 times, reaching $30 billion. Kazakhstan has implemented important joint infrastructure projects with China. Among them there are the oil pipeline Kazakhstan-China, gas pipeline China - Central Asia. Over 90 billion tons of oil and 170 billion cubic meters of gas are supplied through these pipelines.

VAN XIANJU, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR STUDY OF RUSSIA:

Kazakhstan’s role is very important for China. This is evidenced by the fact that in 2013, China’s president Xi Jinping put forward the idea of revival of the Great Silk Road, and Kazakhstan supported this initiative. If China is the main state that generates investments in Central Asia, then the region provides us with the natural gas.

China and Central Asian countries are linked by a strong friendship. These relations are even tighter, for example, than our country’s cooperation with the South-East Asia. These years, we have established a strategic partnership with the states of the central region.